Benitez: Respect and self-confidence (PSV.nl)

At the traditional pre-match press conference, ahead of Liverpool’s training session at the Philips Stadium, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insisted that there are no favourites when the Champions League reaches the quarter-final stage. “We must be cautious and treat PSV with respect. They are a good team. It won’t be easy for us and it won’t be easy for them, either.”
“It will be easier to make any predictions after the first leg”, said Benitez, clearly keeping his options open, whereas many English sports writers claim they can see all three English teams reaching the semi-finals this year, with Liverpool possibly going all the way.
“We think highly of PSV, but we are also brimming with confidence. Yet I can’t help remembering the two games we played against Benfica last season, when we suffered defeat. We must be cautious and treat PSV with respect. They are a good team and have many experienced players. We know they will be difficult to beat. It won’t be easy for us and it won’t be easy for them, either”, said Benitez.
Pepe Reina also previewed the game during the press conference at the Philips Stadium and he agreed with his manager.
“We will not underestimate them. They beat Arsenal in the last round and are top of their league. We have to take each and every game in the toughest competition in Europe seriously. This will obviously be a different game to the one we played in September in the group stages, when a defeat would not have been disastrous. But this is the knock-out competition and mistakes might cost you dearly. So we‘d better not make any mistakes. We respect Koeman highly. He lifted the Cup twice as a player and as a coach he knocked out two English clubs in two years, and Arsenal this term.”